Hidden Champions of the App Economy

As mentioned in a previous post, overall cost performance for cross platform tools by users are quite high, reaching 85%. However, Research2Guidance, a research firm in Germany, finds that despite high satisfaction rates for such tools, less than 5% of apps in major app store are developed with them. (Ref: Mobile app development: Cross-platform tools realize 30% time and cost savings for most developers)

The article goes on, explaining that 75% of developers say that they do not see problems with building cross platform apps at similar quality levels with native apps, thus nullifying the assumption that cross platform leads to low quality, which would in turn lower cross platform tool user rates.


Cross platform tools = high satisfaction rates, no problems with the quality of resulting apps, high cost performance...

So why aren't more developers using cross platform tools?



After analyzing results from their worldwide study, it seems that the tools are not the problem -- awareness of cross platform tools as a whole is low and information about them are not reaching devs.


Research2Guidance offers the following advice to developers:

"For app developers, IT managers, but also app services buying companies, the research results suggest checking if one of the existing CP Tools fits with the project requirement before starting the next app project. With the overall positive user feedback cross-platform tools have received and the low awareness they have in the app market, they are really the hidden champions of the app economy."

With increasing fragmentation, varied devices, OS, screen sizes and the like, cross platform development should definitely be a part of any developer's agenda. The benefits that could be reaped by developing once to accommodate numerous platforms is only a dream come true especially when considering time and cost.

As more and more of these tools are surfacing, don't settle for big name brands that simply have the marketing power to catch developer's eyes like Sencha and Kendo UI. They are great tools, but there are probably other tools out there that suit you better that you just don't know about.

Smart Cars on the go

You might recall Nokia's unveiling their connected car platform 'Here Auto' this past summer, in which an embedded infotainment and navigation system contains all the key features of its Windows Phone 8 app accessed through a PC browser.

But it's not only Nokia that is making ground in this field -- Obigo has also released their HTML5 car platform that boasts of a custom home screen, dynamic mash-up, more interactivity, and better responsiveness. It also has an engine, defroster, ventilation and temperature control system.

Other features of the automotive HMI include bluetooth & WiFi support for mobile connectivity, multimedia players (music/video), systems to obtain vehicle information (driving info, HVAC info), as well as internet radio, weather, and news applications. 

Here is an outline of the system's components:

By using HTML5 for the platform, a rich, dynamic UX can be created and cross-platform app development becomes a reality. The system will always be connected to cloud so users can update contents at any time -- no need to worry about an outdated GPS and maps as push updates will add in new info whenever and wherever you go.

DaVinci Lab just announced our partnership with Obigo in this exciting new field. Obigo will continue with working on it's platform and DaVinci will be providing the tools and technology needed to create applications for it. 

Certain Hyundai models have already been successfully mounted with the Obigo system and we can expect more and more to be released in the market from both western and eastern automobile manufacturers.


Perhaps we are on the road to the futuristic car Michael J Fox road in Back to the Future?

Hm...

Maybe not quite yet, but something like this may not be too far away:

DaVinci is paving the way to the future -- not only for smartphones, but also for smart cars and beyond!

Cross Platform Tools

In a report recently released by Research2Guidance on cross platform tools, we see that more developers opt to use tools and are quite satisfied with them.

Here is a quote for the report,

"Overall, CP Tools are rated well by developers. A high rating has been indicated for platform coverage (83%) availability of pre-installed apps (57%), API cloud service (52%), access to device hardware features (64%) and support (63%). The overall cost-performance of CP Tools is rated by 85% of the users as high or very high."

However, it does point out that many developers are still not quite aware of many tools available out there. As overall user ratings are quite high, it is easy to say that developers should serious consider investing in a cross platform tool to increase efficiency and especially platform coverage.


Another subject that the report makes note of is that many of the tools out there concentrate on support smartphones and tablets without giving attention to lingering needs for PCs as well as newer media such as TV-sets, games consoles, and in-car devices. Many of the tools had emerged when smartphone use started to rocket -- but we can't just stop there. TV and in-car HTML5 platforms will become a major app platform within the next few years and we must prepare for it now.

DaVinci is one of the first that do address these needs, allowing for easy development across a wide spectrum of devices.

As you can see, DaVinci offers the widest range of device optimization among oter web app toolkits, including Kendo UI.


Research2Guidance also showed how access to hardware features is important to app developers -- thus, we can conclude that the more their tool gives them access, the more satisfied they are.

DaVinci also scores high in this area with 10's in every platform that it supports. Take note that although Kendo UI covers more of the mobile OS, it lags quite a bit for both desktop and other devices.

DaVinci also shows high marks for accessibility to pre-installed apps on phones:

Although DaVinci is new to the market, it is definitely make a name of it's own. If you are looking into HTML5 or work with jQuery, DaVinci might be the solution you've been looking for.